Improved sorghum-evaporatob



E. SPERRY.

Sorghum Evaporator.

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@uitrit tutrs 'ateutffirey EBENEZER s .P E nur 0r MIAMI VILLAGE; KANSAS. ,Letters Patent No. 68,665, datori iS'eptembr 1,0, 1867. A

p IMPROVED SORGHUMBVAPORATOR.1

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TO-ALL WHOM, IT MAY CONCERN: g

yBe it known that I, EBENZER SPERRY, of Miami Village, in the county of Miami, and State of- Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Evaporating Apparatus for the extraction of the seiccharine inatter from the juice of sorghum and sugar-cane, or other saccharine-producing materials; andI do hereby declare that the following is a; full and clear description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, und to the letters of reference marked thereon. l u

This invention relates, rstly, to the peculiar form of b oiler used in this evaporator; secondly,`to an elevator, by means of' which the boilingiiuid is elevated from one boiler to another;` thirdly, to a cleanser,

which isused for the purpose of drauin'groli` from time to time sedimentary impurities, such as earthy matter or glutinous residue that will accumulate in the bottom of the boiler during the boiling process; fourthly, to4 an arrangement of skimmers and sinks, the vformer of which are self-operating, andthe latter are designed tov receive the new liquid supplied toV the boiler andthe drainage of the skimmers, orrather the fluid that will rise in the boiler by the process of boiling and ow over into the skimmers, and so -on down into the sink again, thus forminga continuous upward and downward tion of--theboiling liquid; .the sinks are divided into an upperv and lower portion to each separate onethe lower or sub-sink portion .being designed to receive thc heavy sedimentary deposit, that would super-induce burning or scorching of the sirupjf it were allowed to settle on'the bottom of the boiler in parts exposed to the direct action of the fire; fthly, to a cooler, for lowering the temperature of the liquid in the boiler, where it is boiled to the highest state of concentration; sixthly, to a condenser and liquid-heater, where the steam from one o1' more of the boilers may be condensed andutilized; seventhly, to a hot-air drying-chamber, where the fumes from the boilingsirup may be utilized; and, ei'glithly, to the air-heater andheat-regulators,andalso to the arrangement of hot-air fines.`

To enable thosev skilled in the art to make and use my improved cvaporating apparatus, I iviliiproceedrto describe its construction and operation.

'Figure 1 of the drawings isv a plan of the improvedappara-tus'.

Figure 2 is a side elevation-of one side of it.

Figure 3 is a front elevation. A

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of 'one boiler and its sinks, and the cleaner.

Figure 5 is a transverse section through the series ofboilergehowing more clearlyV the construction ofthe boilerrbottoms, also the cooler and the condenser. u Figure Gis a sectional elevation of the hot-air drying-chamber.

Figurel is a sectional elevation of the finishing boiler, A V p A, in figs. l, 3, 4, 5, and 7, represents the boilers receiving the green juice. lhe bottoms thereof are, as shown in iig. fi, composed of at parts a and arched parts a', for giving a large capacity and aoding a large heating surface. The several boilers A are placed relative to each other in the positions as specially shown., iir

iig. 5, and the liquidis raised successively from tho lower to the higher boilers `by an elevator device-, specially shown in figs. 1, 2, and 5, and thus arranged :IB is a funnel-shapcd base, resting `upon the bottom a of each boiler A. 'B connects at the top with a tube, E, which connects with the inclined trough B. When, now, the liquid in A boils, vapors collect in B and rise in B." If the pressure arising from the escaping vapors is sufficient,

a current is'induced through B and Bl which will cause a llow of liquid up 'B andiB, and into B2. Should the i steam current, however, bc insufficient toraise the fluid, a small steam pipo may he introduced into B1, and a jet of steam be used therefrom in connection with the forces aforesaid, said steam-jet acting on the principle of a steam-Siphon. To insure a free and easy loii' of the liquid in the 'trough B2, that end of it 4which is supported by the tube Bl should be a little higher than the other end, thereby giving o. gentle descent to that endof the trough to which the liquid is expected to 'low. The ilow of the liquid in this trough may lic regulated by means of a fountain-gauge, z'. e., a gauge which is actuated by a Heating buoy, resting on tliesurface of the iiuid, in a vessel communicating with. th`e boiler. In' the present instance it consists of a buoychamber, C, into which the fluid from the boiler o'ws through a connecting pipe, and stands at the same height in bothhoiler and buoychamber; and when this surface is as high as required for the boiler,` a' iloating'rbuoy Within the chamber C will ruisethe rod Cl, to which it is attached, and this rod will in turn raise the outer end ofthe lever C2, and conseses 2 q'ue'ntly the innercnd of this lever willsuil'er a corresponding depression. The rod-C, attached 'to the inner end of the lever, has agate, C4, which, when the buoy isiraised, will bo forced more or less into the trough B2, and thus impede or wholly stop the flow ofthe liquid in tho said trough. It is to be understood that the buoychamber is to be connected with the boiler that is to be filled, and there will be one of these fountain-gauges to cach of the boilers-the irst of which will regulate the flow of thc raw juice or liquid from its 'reservoir into the primary-boiler. The other gauges will regulate the flow of the fluid from the sci-eral elevators, one of which will be placed in each of thevboilers, except the last, to feed the boiler next above and behind it. The elevator placed in the last boiler willbe used for a dii'ercnt purpose, vas willr bc hereafter more fully explained. When the gate C* is shut downtightly into the trough B2, the .duid oontainedin the trough will overrun the sides of the said trough, and fall down again into theboiler from-whence it was raised.

The third part of this`invention, the cleanser, consists otl'thefollowiug devices: D is a reservoir or chamber, which has a hopper bottoni, from the bottom of which there isa waste or discharging pipe, Dl, and this pipe A' should be provided with a. stopcock, (not shown.) The reservoir D should be connected with the bottom part vot the boiler to which it belongs by a'pipe leadinginto the sink connected therewith. Of this sink a more full und complete description will be given under that head, and this connection will thereby be more clearly understood. From the top end of the reservoir or chamber D there is a vertical pipe, D2, the upperend of which is to be in open communication with the boilerA A, and this communication may bommie, as in the accompanying drawings, through the buoychamber C. The object of these connections is to keep up a continuous current into and through the reservoir or chamber D, where the heavy or earthy deposits will he left, as it is the lowest point in the whole series of vessels forming the boilers and their. connections, and fromthis receptacle the heavy deposit may be drawn off through the discharge pipe Dl. The stop-cock or faucet which governs the discharge from D might be made to operate automatically by a modified arrangement-'ol' tho fountain-gauge already described. v

There is at each end of every boiler a sink, E, into which the boiling or surface liquid is precipitated, and from the bottom of which it is atl'orded'freeandopen access into the boiler again through an aperture made in the bottom part of the partition wall that divides the boiler from the sink. A continual upward and downward ow or current of the boiling liquid will thus be maintained during the whole operation ot' boiling. There may be-othcr forms of sink used, but this one'is'the most preferable. The others will be described hereafter. 1, There /j should be at one end of each boiler as ubfsinlgz, into which the heavy deposit vor earthy matter that may adhere to the cane when laid upon the field during harvesting, or the muoiluginous residue of the sirup, will settle, and may be drawn olf through the pipe c into the purifier or cleanser D. Another form of sink is represented in gs. 1, 4, and 5, by thelettei E3. There is also a detailed sectional drawing of the sink E3. The I construction of this sink is as follows: A trough, el, placedat one end of thejboiler, has la leg, e2, reaching, down into the deep part of the boiler, to within a'short distance ofjthe bottoni a. Thg'e is a trough, e3, placed within the trough e2, and resting on it by means oi' short legs, so as to leave a space of half anfinch (more or less) 'between the bottoms ot' the two trays. The tray or trough e3 is also alittle narrower than the other one, and the space left between the sides rof the4 two should be adjacent to the boiler, and a skmmelge, which isan L-shaped piece of metal,.is arranged with oneof its legs attached to the end of the boiler proper, or the inner A side wall of the trough e2, while its other leg is extended down into the trough e3 to near its bottom. As the .fluid from the boiler hows over the skimmer e4 into the trough e3, it will risc up in thespace formed between the vertical leg of the slt-immer and the contiguous sidewall of the trough al, over the top of which wall it will find an exit dwn through the leg e2 into the bottom .of the sink, 4andthence again into the boiler as before. The A, vertical-leg of the skimmer e* depending into thc huid in the trough lc3 will arrest all of the scum that may come over with the boiling. fluid. This scum will be disposed of in a'manuer hereinafter explained. By constructing the sinks as in the foregoing description, the heavy deposit is allowed to settle outside of that part of-the'hoiler which is exposed to thedirect action ot the lire, and consequently-thcre is but littlev liability vto burn thc toning uuid.

Theskimmers El are to be formed of sheet.. metal, and very finely perforated. They aret-o befattachod to the ends of the boilers, directly over tho sinks, and so arranged that the scum which rises up on the top et' the boiling fluid will fall over, into theiu,'where what is really scum-can be drawn off.v The ascending volume of the' boiling huid within theboiler A will flow over into the sinks through the skimmersllgor thosoalready described as belonging to the sink E3, 'and thence down into the sub-sink E2, andso on haelt into the boilerthus keeping ,1 up a continuous upward and downward current of' the boiling fluid. In-fcasc the s'cum'should not be sufficiently I drained before passing from thcskimmers, thereds a trough, E, alongthe sides of theminto which the surplus .fluid may escape, and from whence it may bo drawn through asiphouc tube or pipe,'e, and be conducted thence back into n. boiler through a tube, (not shown.) In order to make the scum :and fluid boil over into the strainers and not into an adjoining boiler, or on to the ground, (if only one boiler is used,) the side walls ofeach boiler 5 shouldbe made some three or four inches (moroor lessllxigher than the ond walls thereof. For detailsof these parts` see ff. 4.' Y l A We now come to the description of' thc last or finishing boiler, and of the cooler connected therewith. In order` to prevent burning the highly-concerntruted liquid under the funnel B3 in this boiler, I cause the liquid to i be 'fed directlyin-to it through the stand pipe B, (see fig. 7,) which operates as a receivingsink for this-boiler. The trough B2, which supplies this last-named boiler with its fluid, discharges its contents into av small funnel, B5, on the upper endv of `the ppeB. yIn order to retain the huid in the last boiler as long as possible, and ai. the saine time to keep itat anniforrntemperaturc, and to prevent scorchingit, I employ a cooler of the following construction, which will be readily understood byrefercncc to fig. 7. This cooler husa plate, F, which lits closely to the sides of the boiler, but'so usrto leave an opening at cach end which will allow the air toA enter.

On each side of the pla-te F there is a ver/tical plate, F1, extendinggthe whole length of the boiler, and, say, six to eight inches (more or less) above it. Just above the plate F, and between the plates Fl, isanother horizontal plate, F2, the ends of which are bent down to the plato F, and these two together form a double bottom, with a dead space'of, say, half an inch between them. About one or twoinches (moro or less) below the top edges of the plates Il?I is another horizontalplate, F3, which is perforated with a largo number ofvery small holes. The plate 'FiI has a channel,f, of the depth of one or two inches, more or less, extending across its centre, and from this groove the said plate has a gentle descent of about one degree (more or less) toward each ond. There will be a flange turned up at cach end of this perforated plate, and these flanges, together with the `upper edges of the plates Fl, will form a shallow basin ou the top of the plate F3. The plate F* forms a close-fitting joint along the top edges of the plates F1, and a cover for the shallow basin above F3. This covering plate should be somewhat longer than the sides F1, and have its outer ends turned downward, `so as to properly direct the current of the incoming air in its flow into the chamber between F2 and`F3. The covering plate li, like the plate F3, has a transverse groove or channehf, which, when the two plates are in place, will extend downward into the groove in the lower plate. The groove of -the upper plateshould be iinelyrperforated,`so as to permit the iiuid to pass through without any of the scum.' The channelf(in figs. 1, 5, and 7) connects with a spout, F5. To retain the fluid in f to a proper height, it is compelled to i'low over a partition, fl, fig. 1,` in its passage toward F5. From jf the lfluid is forced to diffuse itself over the sloping perforated plate F3. Through tho perforations hereof the iuid filters, being cooled by the currents of air passing between the plates F2 and F3, and reaches the platesF2 and F. The fluid then passes the skimmers El, igg, in amanner similar-to the one formerly described. I employ the pipes f2 and f3, of fig. 5, to carry off the vapors from the space between F2 and F3.

We next come to the description of the condenser and liquid-heater, by-means of which the vapor that` rises from the boiling sirup may be utilized. In theiaccormpanying illustrations, the `steam is only conveyedto the heater from the finishing boiler through the pipes f2 f3, V(see'hg. 5,) but it is obvious that by a similar arrangement of'pipes, or of a single pipe and cover over any of the boilers, the steam from the boiler or boilers so connected might also be utilized inthe same manner as that next hereinafter described.` The pipe G reeeiveslthe u upper ends of. the pipes f2 and f3, and conducts'the vapor received therefrom into the heater G. The pipe' G has an elbow at g, and a nearly horizontal pipe, g1, leading from the said elbow into the heater G. This portion of the pipe g should be slightly inclined downward from the elbow to the heater, so thatany condensed steam therein will run into the heater. Thercis "an escape chimney, G2, leading upward from the horizontal pipe g1, and this should be provided with a damper, g2, near its lower end, so that the direct escape of the steam and air may thereby be cut olf and turned aside into the heater. An escape pipe, G3, leading from the top part of the heater, discharges the escaping steam anda-ir into the chimuey'Gl, abovefthe damper g2. When the said damper is closed, the ilow of the steam and air will be into and through the heater. The heater device G is intended to receive Waste steam from the pipes fz antifa and gl, as shown in figs. 2 and5. The said steam` passes into the 'exterior cylinder Within this is a corrugated cylinder, Vclosed at -each endyy, to receive the fresh or green juice, which passes into and out of saidcylinder g* by pipes, g, at each end :if g4; The steam surrounding g4 then heats the liquid in g4 preparatory to its being boiled in A. A faucet (not shown) draws off the water of condensation from l The next feature of this invention is the drying-chamber. This 'consists of a. chamber, H, the general outline of which is clearly shown in figs.. 1, 2, and 6. In the preliminary synopsis of thispart ofthe invention, I would state that the primary object of the drying-chamber is to still further reduce thesirup to a more con` centrated state after it leaves the finishing boiler, by running it in small streams through cheated current of air, and the said heated air would, by the operation, become so impregnated with the'fumes ofthe boiling sirup that it might bc utilized for the purpose of drying fruits, and afterwards fed into the furnace under the boilers in its heated state to support combustion. The internal arrangement of this drying-chamber will readily beunderi stood by reference to iig. 6. The top plate h forms an angle of about ten degrees (more or less) with the horizon.` A s-hort distance below the plate h (say one or two inches) is another plate, L, set atthe same angle of inclination as plate 7L. The vertical plate h2, running from the topsplate lof the drying-chamber` nearly to the bottom, forms the chamber h3, fig. 6, into which the heated air passes (from a heater, I, yet to be described.) The tempcrature of the air in ha is regulatedby a valve, K, which may be made to act automatically.` i i The air-heater Iis formed (see iig. 5) similarly to the iiuid-heater G1, before described. It may be sustained on the air-supply pipe z, iig. 6, which receives fresh air from without and passes it into thc corrugated cylinder ofthe aiiheater I, at the same time the hot gases from beneath A strike the exterior of said corrugated cylinder, thus heating p the air within ita The hot air 4having passed out of the heater I' and into the chamber h5, passes beneath thcpartition h2, (sce iig. 6,) and into the drying-chamber H, as before stated. Besides the division the interior of the chamber His subdivided into two other'apartments, 7L* and It". The apartment h* has a series of perforated shelves, H1, as shown clearly in fig. 6. i These shelves are similar in constructionto the perforated plate F3, already described as belonging to the cooler of the finishing boiler. .Above each of the shelves Hl a-re two covering plates, H2, which are arranged so asto slope Adown gently toward the central Atrough ii. The two ends of the shelves Hldescend somewhat from the trough to the ends. The boiling` liuid in the last boilerA is) dis-` charged continuously through a pipe, hl, into the top of the drying-chamber, whereitwill run down through the perforations of the plate h1 in small streams on to the top of the `inclined plates H2, which inclined plates will cause it to run down into thcvtrough la, from whence it will be again diffused over the top of the perforated plate or shelf H, through the perforations of which itfwill again pass down in small streams to therneXt lower shelf, where the operation of concentration into the central trough and of diffusion over the perforated shelf will again take place, and so on to the bottom shelf, from whence 'the finished sirup may be drawn off through the spout its into a' suitable receptacle outside of the chamber. While the sirup is thus passing down from one shelf to another in `minute streams, it will be still further reduced and concentrated by action of the air upon it, as the said air through which it drops down is a strong current taken from the heated air in the chamber 7L", and drawn through in the direction of the red arrows in iig. 6, alternately under and over the several trays or shelves H, until it finds its exit at the top of ol1ainberh"into-the contiguous one L, from' whence it is discharged through the pipe 719 into the fire-box, and there supports the combustion of the fuel that heats the boilers A. The end of the pipe L that conveys the air into thefire-hox should be turned up in a vertical direction, and a cap, hm, placed over its upper end, so as to prevent ashes froml the grate from passing down into the said pipe and stopping it up. There should be an escape chimney, H3, erected upon the lower end of the chamber H, as

seen in thc side elevation, which will serve for the escape otl the heated air or any portion of it, when not needed for the use of the tire. The lower end et' this chimney should extend down into the chamber H to near its bottom, and should be provided with a suitable self-operating damper., As the iirein the furnace is to be supplied with air entirely from this source after the fire has been started, there will thus be kept up a continual current the whole time. An steam that ma vbe contained in the air after havin assed throuvh the chamber .Y Y g P e 714, and that may become Condensed in 7L, may be drawn off by means of a suitable stop-cock at hu. The chamber h5 should be provided with side doors, It", through which fruit may be introduced into it for the purpose of being dried by the passing current of hot air, charged with the fumes of the Sirup in h The boilers A may be made of sheet or cast metal, and may be used singly' or in groups. If they' are to be set up in groups, (as .will be most advantageous,) they should bemade singly, and when set up the intcrsticcs between the different boilers may be stopped up with cl'ay or mortar. Until the fluid of the finishing boiler has arrived at a sufiiciently concentrated state to be drawn off into the drying-chamber H, it may be returned to the primary boiler through a pipe, L, and this is the principal advantage oi' raising one of the boilers higher than the one which precedes it.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The boiler A., when its bottom, a al, is constructed as herein described and set forth.

2. I claim the combination and arrangement of the boiler A, the elevators B B1, and troughs B2, substantially as and for the purpose described. i

3. The arrangement of the cleanser D Dl D2, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. vThe sinks E, with or without the sub-sinks E2, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. -The arrangement and combination of the stand pipe B* and elevator B3, substantiallyas set forth.

. 6. The combination of the pipes f2 and f3 with the cooler F F2 F3, substantially as set forth.

7. The arrangement and combination ofthe corrugated cylinder g* with the exterior easing y and the pipes G g, as set forth.

8. The combination ofthe hot-air chamber h3 with the finishing-chamber h4 andfdryingfehamber H, arranged substantially as set forth.

i EBENEZER SPERRY.

Witnesses:

HENRY Fmr), CHAs. H. BoYLE. 

